Shirt collar support



Jan. 9, 1951 v so 2,537,765

SHIRT COLLAR SUPPORT Filed Aug. 21, 1948 4 INVEN TOR. (Zraezz 11/671667; BY

Patented Jan. 9, 1951 2,537,765 smar- COLLAR scrron'r- Arden..L. Iverson, Chicago, 111., assignor toPara- Lux Products Company," Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 21, 1948, Serial No. 25,505-

7 Claims.

The subject matter of this invention is an improved collar support for collar-attached shirts, which is fabricated from inexpensive, flexible paper or cardboard stock and is adapted to be quickly and easily manipulated for insertion within the neckband of the shirt collar so as to brace the latter against crushing or ruinpling during subsequent packaging and handling.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved support of the foregoing type, which utilizes a minimum of material and which may be died out at a high production rate and with out waste from the paper board material.

A further object is to provide a collar protector of the type described having novel integral provisions for strongly bracing and stifening the same in its operative relationship to a shirt collar and for engaging with portions of the collar neckband to lock thereto in a fashion to strongly resist inadvertent displacement therefrom.

A more specific object is to provide a simple paper board support or protector of the foregoing nature, constructed from a blank which is slitted and creased to afford av rearwardly bend.- able, toggle-type bracing flap and a pair of forwardly projecting locking tongues adjacent the lower margin thereof, which tongues are adapted to positively engage lockingly beneath the lower forward. edge of a shirt collar neckband, together with a pair of rearwardly projecting spring arms which are frictionally en ageable with the inner surface of said neckband to resist displacement of the support.

The fore oing statements are indicative in a general'way of the nature of the invention, but other and more specific objects will be apparent to those skiiled in the art upon a full understanding of the construction and operation of the de vice.

A single embodiment of the invention is presented herein for purpose of exemplification, but it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible of incorporation in other modified forms coining equally within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan View of a simple paper board blank from which the present collar support is constructed, illustrating the manner of slitting and creasing the same for subsequent manipulation;

Fig. 2 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary view in vertical section through a protector in the subsequent, shaped condition thereof ready for insertion in the collar neckband, being taken r 2 on a line generally corresponding to line 2-Z of Fig. 1;.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating the protector in operative inserted relation to a shirt neckband;v and Fig. 4 is a plan. view illustrating a conventional mans colTar-attached shirt having a protector in accordance with the invention associated therewith.

In the drawings, and with particular reference to Fig. 1 thereof, the reference numeral it generally designates a. blankv whichv is died out: from an inexpensive grade of. paper board. or card.- boa-rd stoclnbeing in approximately T-shaped outline, thus affording a pair of laterally projecting arms I I having inclined and serrated terminal edges l2'and'a central reinforcing tongue or panel 53 projecting from one side of a central portion 13' between said arms. This panel is also provided with serrated edges Id, resulting from the fact, as illustrated in broken line in 1, that the blank outline enables a number oi nested, or longitudinally and laterally staggered, blanks to be produced from the paper board. stock without waste.

The lower marginal edge [5 of blank it has a slight curvature adapting the same; to the general contour of the neckband of a freshly laundered and banded shirt, and the upper edges l6 of arms I! are generally parallel thereto. Intermediate the points of junctionv of the arm marginal edges 16 with the panel t3, the blank is provided with an arcuate, upwardly convex slit ll, whereby said panel is fodable in the direction toward the central portion It with a togglelike, springing eiTect, the unslitted connecting portions [8 serving as hinges for this action. A further serrated slit l9, upwardly concave in its general outline, is located beneath and in opposed relation to slit I! and the blank is further slitted medially and vertically beneath slit is, as at 20., to separate from one another a pair of like looking tongues 21 which lie in opposed rela- I tion to one another.

In the flat form thereof, the tongues 2! lie in the plane of the blank. However, when the latter is. disposed in a curved outline, these tongues will project substantially forwardly of the remainder of the protector. In order to facilitate manual bending of the blank to such a curved outline, the same is provided with a plurality of parallel creases 22 extending through the panel is and subjoined central portion 13.

In use, the panel I3 is first bent rearwardly and downwardly about the hinging portions l8 and toward portion l3. The arms II are then similarly biased rearwardly to a generally curved outline. This has a toggle action on the panel 13, tending to spring the same further inwardly about hinges 18 toward the remainder of the support. At the same time the locking tongues 2| are caused to project substantially forwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 2. With the protector in this curved condition, it is slipped within the neckband 23 of the shirt 2d, hooking the locking tongues 21 beneath the front, throat portion 25 of said neckband. The arms I l are then allowed to expand outwardly into frictional engagement with the neckband, thereby resisting displacement of the protector from the latter. The serrated edges 12 tend to grip the material of the neckband positively to further improve this spring locking action.

In operative position, displacement of the sup-.

port or protector from the shirt without first disengaging the arms I from the neckband is practically impossible, due to the positive engagement of the locking tongues 2| described above. At the same time, the depending panel biased and cramped by the toggle effect referred to imparts substantial column strength and rigidity to the forward portion of the protector, where it is needed to sustain loads. A number of shirts having the protectors applied thereto may be stacked in alternate staggered relation and wrapped, and will withstand substantial loading and rough handling without causing flattening of the collar portions, The vertical load is borne by the panel 13 and adjacent front portion [3 of the protector, rather than by the collar.

I claim:

1. A shirt collar support of the type described, comprising a member of flexible sheet stock having a pair of oppositely extending flexible arms and an integral intermediate panel projecting from one side of and between said arms, which panel is partially separated from said member by an arcuate cut and is flexibly connected to the member by portions between said arms and the ends of said out whereby to be bendable rearwardly and downwardly in buckled bracing relation to said member when the latter is disposed in rearwardly concave outline, said member being provided adjacent the opposite lower edge thereof with a pair of integral locking tongues which project substantially forwardly of the remainder of said member when the latter is disposed in said concave outline with said panel depending downwardly between said arms, said tongues being engageable beneath a portion of a shirt neckband to afford a positive lock resisting displacement of the support therefrom, and said panel being of sufiicient length to extend at least the vertical dimension of said neckband and sustain loads thereon.

3. A shirt collar protector of the type described, comprising a member of flexible paper board stock having a pair of oppositely extending, flexible arms and an integral intermediate panel projecting from the upper side of and between said arms, said member being slitted along an upwardly convex arcuate line extending transversely of the connection of said panel to said arms to partially free said panel from said member and enable rearward hinging of the panel relative to the arms to operate, downwardly directed position therebetween, and being longitudinally and transversely slitted adjacent the edge thereof opposite said panel to define a pair of locking tongues, said tongues being adapted to protect substantially forwardly of the remainder of the member when said arms are bowed to concave outline and to engage beneath a portion of a shirt neckband to afiord a positive lockresisting displacement of the protector therefrom.

4. A shirt collar protector of the type described, comprising a member of flexible pap-er board stock having a pair of oppositely extending, flexible arms and an integral intermediate panel projecting from one side of and between said arms, said member being curvedly slitted along an upwardly convex arcuate line extending transversely of the connection of said panel to said arms to partially free said panel from said member and enable rearward toggle hinging of the panel relative to the arms to operative, downwardly directed position therebetween, and being longitudinally and transversely slitted adjacent the edge thereof opposite said panel to define a pair of locking tongues, said tongues being adapted to project substantially forwardly gageable beneath a portion of a shirt neckband -fli to aiford a positive lock resisting displacement of the support therefrom.

2. A shirt collar support of the type described, comprising a member of flexible sheet stock having a pair of oppositely extending flexible arms and an integral intermediate panel projecting from one side of and between said arms, which panel is partially separated from said member by an arcuate cut and is flexibly connected to the member by portions between said arms and the ends of said out whereby to be bendable rearwardly and downwardly in buckled bracing relation to said member when the latter is disposed in rearwardly concave outline, said member being provided adjacent the opposite lower edge thereof with a pair of integral locking tongues which project substantially forwardly of the remainder of said member when the latter is disposed in said concave outline with said panel depending downwardly between said arms, said tongues being enof the remainder of the member when said arms are bowed to concave outline and to engage beneath a portion of a shirt neckband to afford a positive lock-resisting displacement of the protector therefrom.

5. A shirt collar protector of the type described, comprising a member of flexible paper board stock having a pair of oppositely extending, fiexible arms and an integral intermediate panel projecting from one side of said member and between said arms, said member being slitted along an upwardly convex arcuate line extending transversely of and across the mid-point of adjoining portions of said panel and said arms to partially free said panel from said member and enable rearward hinging of the panel relative to the member and arms to operative, downwardly directed position therebetween, and being longitudinally and transversely slitted adjacent the edge thereof opposite said panel to define a pair of locking tongues, said tongues being adapted to project substantially forwardly of the remainder of the member when said arms are bowed to concave outline and to engage beneath a portion of a shirt neckband to afford a positive lock resisting displacement of the protector therefrom, said panel being of sufficient length to extend substantially the entire vertical dimension of said neckband in said downwardly directed position of the tab.

6. A shirt collar support of the type described, comprising a member of flexible sheet stock having a pair of oppositely extending flexible arms and an integral intermediate tab projecting from one side of and between said arms, which tab is partially separated from said member by an arcuate cut and is flexibly connected to the member by hinge portions located at opposite ends of said out whereby to be bendable rearwardly and downwardly in buckled bracing relation to said member when the latter is disposed'jin rearwardly concave outline.

7. A shirt collar protector of the type described, comprising a member of flexible paper board stock having a pair of oppositely extending, flexible arms and an integral intermediate tab' projecting from one side of said member and between said arms, said member beingfc'urvedly slitted along an upwardly convex arcuate line extending transversely across the mid-point of adjoining portions of said tab and said member to partially free said tab from the member and REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,814,653 Wilson July 14, 1931 1,816,539 Lerman July 28, 1931 1,886,826 Mead 1- NOV. 8, 1932 2,078,761 Herrlinger Apr. 27, 1937 2,334,068 Chadwick Nov. 9, 1943 

